Greats of the 20th century

The Boston Herald

December 29, 1992

Beverly Beckham

A little house-cleaning before the new year begins. Way back in September, I wrote a what-do-you-think column. Who, I asked, has made the greatest contribution to the 20th century?

People I had already spoken with had mentioned Gandhi, Pope John XXIII, John Kennedy, Winston Churchill, Martin Luther King, Jonas Salk, Henry Ford, Mother Teresa, and Albert Schweitzer. I gave my vote to Walt Disney. But I wanted to know what you thought, and I asked you to write. And you did.

I received your letters and read every one and put them in a box right on my desk, where they have languished neglected and unanswered for months. I intended to respond to every one personally. I intended to answer all my mail and to send Christmas cards and to keep my office clean, and do a dozen things much, much better than I did last year.

But that's a subject for a why-I'm-not-going-to-make-any-new-year's-resolutions-this-year-or-ev er-again column. column is dedicated to your ideas and choices for a 20th century hero.

"Do you remember Dr. Frances Kelsey who would not approve the Thalidomide drug which was used to prevent morning sickness in pregnant women?" Anne Sullivan from Winthrop asked. "It was used in many countries, causing horrendous birth defects, but thank God, thanks to Dr. Kelsey, we in America were spared those many heartaches. She is my 20th century heroine!"

"Just think what this world would be like without Thomas Edison's contributions - especially electricity!" S. Giampapa of Newton said.

"There is no doubt in my mind, the public figure having the greatest impact on the 20th century was Neil Armstrong," George Alexander of Waltham argued. "More than any other moment in mankind's history, this event and this man represented to us all that we as a people can accomplish."

"There is probably not just one greatest figure of the twentieth century," said Greg Tocco from Watertown, "but a strong case can be made for Mr. Gorbachev." Michael MacDonald of Brighton agreed.

"Please count my vote for Dr. Billy Graham," said Virginia Swetnan of Kingston.

"There is no question who the Man Of The Century is," wrote Gordon Head of Abington. "The debt that the world owes Britain and Churchill is incalculable."

"In my estimation, all the people you mentioned have been the best in the world," Teresa Lombardi from Revere wrote. "But who gave them their life? They all had mothers. Mothers may not be public figures, but ... they had a lot to do with producing the best of the 20th century."

Constance Murphy of Dover named her mother. "My favorite hero is my late mother, Katherine Meehan Train, who passed away in 1982 at the age of 78."

Murphy's sister, Diane Dillon of Michigan, chose their brother. "My vote for an important figure, though not a public figure, goes to my brother John Train Jr., who was one of those forgotten heroes who died in Korea in 1953."

Corinne Brennan's sixth-grade class at Morse Pond School in Falmouth, gave a host of answers: Thomas Edison, because he invented the light bulb and because, as Renata Schneider wrote, "we are able to see and not be in the dark all the time." Alexander Graham Bell: "I think the telephone is a remarkable invention," Mel Gray wrote, though he added, "there are some bad things about the telephone, too. For one thing you pay a lot of money for talking on the phone." Sandra Davis chose Martin Luther King, as did Kerry Lynch and Hunter Greeley. "Dr. King really changed our country," Greeley wrote. Others nominated Rosa Parks, Harry Truman, Walt Disney, the Wright brothers, Henry Ford, Albert Einstein, and God.

By far the most obscure name was submitted by Tiffany Foster, also a student at Morse Pond School.

"My opinion is that Busby Berkeley is the most influential person in the 20th century.... He inspired the 20th century by inventing many types of views in photography, like the bird's-eye view and the illusion view."

As the angel Clarence tells George Bailey in "It's a Wonderful Life:" "Each man's life touches so many other lives." Each man's life has a ripple effect. The actions of public figures influence history. But the actions of every ordinary person leave their mark, too.